It seems like every year NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. is asked which players helped themselves the most based on performances at the NFL combine.

It is unusual, however, that he calls the name of a player whose career was at UConn.

"The guys that I highlighted — obviously Malcolm Brown from Texas, but you think about Dick Beasley from Clemson, you think about Byron Jones, the safety/corner from Connecticut," Kiper said during a national conference call Thursday.

For the people who have followed Jones from New Britain to St. Paul-Bristol and UConn, that is good news.

Jones' 12-foot-3 broad jump on Monday, an NFL combine record also believed to be a world record, and his 44.5-inch vertical leap, a half inch off the record set this year, certainly got the attention of Kiper and many others. The Jones broad jump video went viral and certainly showed his athleticism. The vertical leap showed he can get up high to defend a pass.

The former UConn cornerback and captain from New Britain set the record in the broad jump at the NFL combine with what is believed to be a world-record leap of 12 feet, 3 inches at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

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Let the record show that Byron Jones was no more or no less humble than he has always been.

The former UConn cornerback and captain from New Britain set the record in the broad jump at the NFL combine with what is believed to be a world-record leap of 12 feet, 3 inches at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

... (DESMOND CONNER)

It's hard to say exactly what this did for his draft status, but it certainly helped.

The only sure thing about the April 30-May 2 draft is that there's nothing sure about it, but this much is true: Jones has garnered national attention and no one should be surprised if he receives more on March 31, Pro Day on UConn's campus. That is where many NFL teams will have a representative to see how Jones performs in two other critical events — the 40-yard dash and the bench press, neither of which he did at the combine.

Watch: Byron Jones Record-Setting Broad Jump

Former UConn star Byron Jones was the center of attention at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Monday when he posted a Combine-record broad jump of 12 feet, 3 inches. (Video clip found on youtube).

Former UConn star Byron Jones was the center of attention at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Monday when he posted a Combine-record broad jump of 12 feet, 3 inches. (Video clip found on youtube).

"I had a high grade on him before, that's why I still like him," Kiper said. "You can't like a guy after a workout if you didn't like him before. Fluid hips, real physical. He's a press corner. He had a shoulder injury in late October. He had 19 starts at cornerback the last two years and 20 starts at safety the first two years. He was a captain in high school, captain at UConn, team leader. I think he's an early- to mid-second-round pick. He's 6-1, 200, and can play cornerback or safety."

In Wednesday's mock draft, NFL.com had Jones going 20th overall, in the first round, to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Jones put on a show in Indy, but he's much more than a workout warrior. He was a four-year starter at UConn with toughness and smarts. That fits the Chip Kelly profile," NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah wrote.

Jones is, first and foremost, a football player. He hopes to be drafted in April. He's not trying out for the Olympics.

"The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about Byron's combine," Jones' agent, Jared Fox, of Sportstars said. "Most of this doesn't come as a surprise to those who scouted him around the NFL. Anyone around UConn knew he was a great athlete, and he is a great athlete, but the thing you don't want to see get lost in this whole shuffle is that Byron is a very good football player and he's not just a combine freak. I've represented players who were very unproductive but had great combines. Byron's a player who's been very productive and had a great combine."

For the past two seasons no sports agency has had more first-round NFL selections than Fox's Sportstars. UConn has only had one first-round pick and that's Donald Brown, taken by the Colts with 27th overall pick in 2009. He signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Chargers last March.

Could Jones be UConn's next No.1?

"I know Byron Jones was graded well by NFL teams," Fox said. "He's now going to be well-graded on his athleticism, which is an indication of his tools moving into the future, and I believe once teams put together the file on Byron Jones adding up film, the athletic component, the mental component, I think they're going to come out with really positive results.

"I don't know where that transfers to in terms of round at this point. I think the arrow is pointing up on him not just because of his leaping ability, because as folks go back and look further into his tape, they're going to see traits that will translate into the NFL as a long corner with great movement skills and great athletic ability."

In seven games last season as a senior, and playing with a shoulder injury that forced an abbreviated season, Jones had two dramatic interceptions. One was returned 70 yards at South Florida; the other came off East Carolina's Shane Carden in the end zone. His film also will show a player who started 37 of a possible 43 games, had eight career picks and came up well in run support with 223 tackles.

"At the end of the day, it's just about doing the best you can do, being the best you can be, and let the chips fall where they may," Jones said. "I'm just going to keep working hard and we'll see how everything shakes out."